It has been more than two decades since David Thompson last opened a restaurant in Sydney.

The restaurant in question, Sailors Thai, was a sensation that evolved over time into a bona fide institution. It remains for many the pinnacle of Thai cooking in Australia.

Thompson himself as evolved as well, becoming one of Australia’s most successful culinary exports while remaining committed to the Thai flavours he discovered and fell in love with in the 1980s.

In 2001, he opened Nahm at The Halkin Hotel in London, where, within six short months, it became the first Thai restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star. In 2010, Nahm expanded to Bangkok itself, where it has continually been named one of Asia’s best restaurants. (It was named 37th on this year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, outranking Australian heavy-hitters like Brae, Quay and Sepia, the latter of which fell off the list altogether.)

And now Thompson’s coming back to where it all began, with his latest effort, Long Chim, to open at Sydney’s Angel Place on August 29.

“Like some prodigal son, I am returning home to open Long Chim,” he said in a statement. “I am so looking forward to cooking in Sydney once more and having people come and taste Long Chim’s food.”

Served at counter seats and communal tables over two levels, that food will be firmly situated in the Thai street food tradition. The restaurant’s name translates literally as “come and taste” and the menu has been explicitly designed with this invitation in mind.

Small dishes include prawn cakes, beef skewers with cumin, coriander and turmeric, and cured pork sausages spiked with chillies and ginger. Massaman beef curry with cardamom and coconut and deep-fried squid with garlic and peppercorns are among its more substantial offerings. For dessert, you can indulge in banana roti or – if you can handle the pungent smell of the stuff – durian ice cream. The restaurant’s cocktail menu has been developed by James Connolly and its wine list by Greg Plowes.

The Sydney venture will be Thompson’s third Long Chim, with those in Singapore and Perth already packing them in on a regular basis.

“In a very short space of time Long Chim has become a go-to that feels like it’s an established player,” Max Brearley wrote in his review of the Perth venue. “In time that sense will only grow.”

It sounds like Sydneysiders have a lot to look forward to.